The Invisible

January 7, 2008
At the start of Britton’s solid third thriller to feature CIA loose cannon Ryan Kealey (after The Assassin
and The American
), Kealey has been wandering the world, seeking solace after his girlfriend and fellow agent, Naomi Kharmai, walked out on him four months earlier. When his CIA handler Jonathan Harper tells Kealey he’ll produce Naomi if Kealey will come back on the job, Kealey agrees. The job entails tracking down an Algerian terrorist, Amari Saifi, who’s abducted several Americans in Pakistan. When Saifi ups the ante by capturing Brynn Fitzgerald, the acting U.S. secretary of state, the assignment shifts into high gear. The exciting kidnapping scene underscores Britton’s strength—high-octane action—but the plot and characters adhere too closely to the rules and regulations of the genre. Hopefully, this obviously talented writer, who gets better with each book, will either amp up the complexity or drop Kealey and move on to new territory.

May 26, 2008
J. Charles use his extensive theatrical experience to inject some life into the audio version of Britton's third adventure of rogue CIA agent Ryan Kealey. While there are some tight action scenes, the setup is so predictable and cut from such worn fabric that nobody could do much with it. Still, Charles adds a bit of zest to Kealey, a degree of believability to some key female characters and to the “invisible” of the title, a terrorist called Amari Saifi, who has abducted several Americans in Pakistan. Despite Charles's best efforts, listeners will probably feel they've heard it all before. Sadly, the 27-year-old Britton died (of an undiagnosed heart condition) just weeks after the release of this novel. Simultaneous release with the Kensington hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 7).